The Return
by blue-eyed angel
Summary: Syaoran returns to tomoeda looking to marry Sakura, however they had changed so much that neither recognised the other...*COMPLETE* Sequel is called The China Doll(S+S and E+T)
1. two different pathsor so it seems

WAIT!!! Before you go on to chapter six read below!!! It's new!!!  
  
A/N: hey guys. This is a newly improved version of 'The Return'. It's longer and better. I felt that the story was lacking n the plot areas so I added the uncut version. If your reading this for the first time than you're lucky because the last version sucked in plain terms. This one will add more S+S scenes and a touch of that promised E+T. the story wont be just the eight chapters like I had said. Instead I'll add scenes in which Sakura and 'Xiao Lang' will become very close and Sakura will forget about her lost love and Xiao Lang will temporarily forget the reason he came to Japan in the first place. The only unchanged part is the end, it'll still end tragically...  
One more thing...Jing and Sakura's friends have more scenes than before.   
  
Hopefully you'll enjoy all the deleted scenes from the original cause it'll make it seem better. Think of it like a DVD player.  
  
The Return  
  
Chapter: 1 - two different paths...or so it seems  
  
Place: Tomoeda, Japan  
  
"I heard that she's a lesbian. That's why everyone likes her, because they can't have her"  
"No, that's not true. I overheard Xun talking to Miko yesterday. I think he told her that she was depressed because an old crush or boyfriend moved away and promised to return to her, or so I've heard."  
"I've seen her during cheerleading practice and when she's at the mall with her friends and I'd almost swear it on my life that she's not depressed. I've never seen her checking out the guys either. I think she's definitely a lesbian." The girls kept arguing as they left the schoolyard. (No offence to lesbians out there.)  
  
That's how everyone reacted after Sakura rejected yet another guy. Not once did anyone ever see her date a guy or even show them a single ounce of affection. The only thing that came close to flirting with her was when she was talking with two of her guy best friends. But of course they had girlfriends and everyone knew Sakura only saw them as friends. When Syaoran left Japan six years ago she vowed that she would never like anyone nearly as much as she loved him.   
She never even gave them a chance to date her. She was only interested in being friends. It was a shame only two guys at Sakura's high school, Seiju high, took the time to know her.   
All everyone else saw was the shell. Her radiating beauty, her athletic abilities, and the fact that every guy was just dying to date her was what made them crazy about her. Not her personality.   
  
Years ago some guys started a poll to see who could break down Sakura's defensive wall and have the chance to date her. But they went about it the wrong way. She had much more patience than them and eventually they gave up. Everyone who placed a bet had to get their money back.  
  
This time the reason for all of the talk and rumors was because she had just rejected the most popular guy in the entire school, Jing Chan. His ego was so big that it swelled into his brain, making him believe that he was none other than Kami-sama himself.  
"What do you mean 'no thanks'?" He was furious that she had the nerve to reject him in front of the whole school.   
"You should be lucky I even asked you!!" It looked like he had never been rejected or dumped before in his entire life, which was probably true.  
"Oh did I hurt your poor iddy biddy ego?" she mocked in a baby voice with her hands on her waist. While she did this, his face was turning blue with anger. "Sorry but you're not my type." She added and then turned her back on the soccer captain. 'Syaoran's my type.' She said silently to herself.   
"Oh she's definitely a lesbian." The girls agreed, shocked that anyone would dare to turn down Jing.  
  
  
Place: Hong Kong  
  
Over in Hong Kong, girls drooled over Syaoran in the same fashion. And although girls never went up to him directly and asked him out, they were still jealous that they were second best.  
"Wow. What a body! I can't believe I actually saw him!!"  
"Look at those muscles. He doesn't need the bodyguards."  
"Hey wanna know what I heard?"  
"What?"  
"I heard that he has to marry his cousin and hates the idea."   
"Which cousin?"  
"Meilin"  
"She's so lucky! I would die just to meet him, but marry him? It would be like a dream come true."  
"I also heard that he fell in love with some girl while he was away!"  
"Why couldn't it have been one of us?"  
"Hey! What does he have that I don't?" Asked a guy who was furious that he was being forced to chase after some guy.  
"What does he have that you DO?" They countered in unison.   
"Hey! What's with the bag?" A girl asked drawing everyone's attention back to the teenager crossing the street, followed by two burly bodyguards.  
  
This particular group had just watched as Syaoran had walked out of the front gates of his manor.   
  
The only difference between the girls in Hong Kong and the guys back in Japan, besides the gender, was that the girls liked Syaoran from afar, afraid to be verbally attacked by his mother, Li Yelan. Back in Hong Kong, Li-kun was their own little celebrity. Everyone knew that he had gone away for a long time. They also knew that he was to be the leader of the most powerful clan in Asia. And every girl that even got a glimpse of him thought he was the hottest guy on the planet.  
  
As much as the public knew about Li-kun, that was as little as they knew about him. They didn't know he was shy, or aggressive or any of the traits he showed in Japan. They also didn't know how much he missed his cherry blossom back in Tomoeda.  
  
Now he finally had the chance to stay with her. After years of suffering in misery without her, his mother had finally given in to his desires and allowed him to return to Japan fiancée-less.   
But there was a constant voice in his head that always made him wonder if returning to Japan was a good idea. Horrible thoughts plagued him constantly,   
  
'What if she's forgotten you? It has been six years after all. You never wrote to her, or even called her. What if she never loved you in the first place? What if she only thought of you as a friend? Just a friend who helped her when she needed it, and ended up falling head over heals in love with her. What if she doesn't care if you return. What if you waited too long and she forgot your promise and she gave up on her feelings for you...that is if she ever had any. Six years is quite a long time...what if she has a boyfriend? You waited too long...'   
  
But then he would push the thoughts out of his mind and think of something else.  
When he arrived at the airport, a clan member was waiting to give him his best wishes for the flight.  
Good luck, finding your Ying Fa sir. When you return, I hope it is with a ring on your finger and a beautiful girl on your arm." The young man said as Syaoran climbed aboard the jet waving goodbye. When he was seated he began to think again, 'why did I get such a bad feeling when he mentioned coming back to Hong Kong engaged to Sakura?' he hoped that he would finally tell Sakura about his feelings for her and live happily ever after just like in the fairy tales...   
  
  
So did you like the newer version? Please review!! Can you believe the original one was almost 500 words shorter?????!? please review!! I'll love you and if you have S+S or E+T stories I promise I'll read them and review!! Honest!!  



	2. Li, Xiao Lang

A/N: yes I have also edited chapter two and so on. In the first version I skipped so much details that the ending had no structure. I really have to work on editing my stories before I post them. So just read...  
  
The Return   
Chapter 2 - Li, Xiao Lang  
  
Place: plane over the water  
  
When Syaoran had boarded his plane he requested that no one bother him. He wished to sit in privacy and think about what would happen. Every time he tried to think of a new way to express his feelings he discovered a flaw... 'Too cheesy...nope to pushy...too blunt...no that's too...not me.' He thought to himself before finally settling on one decision.  
"I have to act natural. Be myself. I don't have to plan ahead this time." He muttered to himself and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.  
  
Place: Tomoeda, Japan  
  
"I still can't believe you rejected him. He's going to need major therapy after what you just did to his ego." It was the next day and Sakura had just told Tomoyo all of what had happened outside of the school the day before.  
  
Sakura and Tomoyo were busy shopping for next semester and totally oblivious to who was being carried in the plane passing just above their heads.  
"Do these planes seem to get louder or is it just my imagination? Must be someone rich." Sakura noted as Tomoyo dragged her to yet another shop looking for the perfect anniversary present for her boyfriend.  
"Uh huh. Do you think Eriol would like this?" she asked not paying attention to what Sakura had asked. She had her nose squashed against another pane of glass and was pointing to a watch that had a gold and silver braided strap and a diamond studded faceplate. It was stunning to look at and it seemed to glow in the sunlight. But one look at the price tag and Sakura knew she wouldn't be buying anything in that store anytime soon. She was about to point out the cost when she remembered Tomoyo's stash of credit cards. With her money she could probably buy out the entire store and still have money left to shop.  
"He'd love it I'm sure. Why don't you get it and have it engraved?" Sakura asked nodding towards the engraving shop next door.  
"Oh what a great idea, he will love it."  
So Tomoyo went into the store and bought the watch and dashed next door and had it engraved to say: "happy 5th anniversary, love Tomoyo." As they were waiting they decided to get a quick ice cream and afterwards head to Sakura's house to talk more about Jing and to catch up on everything Tomoyo was missing while going to a private school with Eriol.  
~~  
"So back to Jing. I always thought it was every girls dream to get a chance to go out with him. I'll bet everyone who hears about this will be thinking, 'Yay! He's still free but what the hell was she thinking about when she rejected him?'  
  
"Maybe so, but not mine. I still lo-like you know who." replied Sakura staring out the window as trees and houses rushed past them.  
"Oh, that jerk! If I ever get my hands on Syaoran, I swear I'll truly make him pay for just leaving you like that. No call or letter after he left. The nerve of him." Tomoyo started to get angry all over again. "And to think, you never stopped loving him!!"   
At this Sakura thought her eyes would pop out.  
"Tomoyo! I never said I loved him." Sakura said trying to stick up for herself.  
"You didn't have to." Tomoyo put simply. " Are we still racing today like always?" she added.  
"Of course."  
Tomoyo's driver dropped them off at the corner, at Tomoyo's request, and the two girls took off running as fast as they could heading towards Sakura's house.  
  
Every time, for the past six years, they raced home after a day of shopping. Sakura would go one way and Tomoyo would go another and they would meet up at Sakura's house. The loser had to make Kero dessert. And for some strange reason Sakura never once made it home before Tomoyo. (A/n: Tomoyo knew of a shortcut called Eriol. Proving that having a boyfriend isn't just about hugs and kisses, for them it's about winning races.) But this time Sakura was determined to beat her. Except she didn't imagine that she would have to clobber a guy in the process.   
As she turned the corner of her high school she crashed headfirst into a student who was walking out of the front gates.  
"Ow!!" exclaimed the guy who had been flung to the floor on his back with Sakura on top.  
"So sorry!" cried Sakura who had already gotten back up and was racing around the corner in a flash of pink. She left the guy standing wondering who she was.  
~~  
  
That guy had been Syaoran. But before he could get a good look at her she had already disappeared around a corner. 'Who was that?' he thought to himself as he dusted off his pants and headed to his new apartment. Neither teen knew who the other was.  
He had just been enrolled at the local high school and had gotten everything he needed: uniform, books, and timetable.  
"So I guess my first class is math." He mumbled to himself as he started to unpack the stuff that the movers had been told not to touch. Mostly these boxes only contained Syaoran's stuff and a box full of magic books.  
He decided to start on the books first and then get around to his stuff whenever he could. He hadn't really needed the books in Japan but his mother insisted he bring them. 'Who knows when you'll have to use them' she had said. So he decided to take a few just to please her.  
  
Finally after a few hours of unpacking he was done. He was exhausted from over working that he just collapsed on his bed and stared at the ceiling reviewing the past few events in his head...  
  
*FLASHBACK*  
"Xiao Lang please come here." Called his mother. He knew it had to be important from the tone in her voice and the fact that when he arrived in the living room the clan elders were seated and even his gossipy sisters were there.  
"Yes mother?" he asked scanning the faces for any sign of the announcement his mother was about to make, but their faces remained a blank stare.  
"Are you happy here? In Hong Kong?" she asked catching him off guard.  
"Hai." He lied.  
"Are you telling the truth?"  
"Uh...iie." He answered with his eyes cast downwards waiting for the discipline that never came. He slowly lifted his head and saw the elders nodding to his mother.  
"Well then where would you be most happy?" she asked. He decided to answer truthfully again.  
"Anywhere Ying Fa is." He replied  
"Who is this Ying Fa you talk about?" asked one of the elders who was sitting on the couch with a curious look on his face.   
"Her name is Kinomoto Sakura, Ying Fa in Chinese. She lives in Japan." He said with determination, then added softly "and I love her." After he said this he expected to be worked to the bone for weeks or tortured for hating Hong Kong but his mother had her own agenda.  
"Then take this and be happy. And don't come back till she's yours." And she handed him a one-way ticket to Japan. He was so overjoyed that he leapt into his mother's arms and showed so much emotion that shocked everyone. They were used to the boy with no heart, the boy who came back from Japan solemn and heartbroken. 'This Ying Fa did something wonderful for him but this might not be exactly what he wants' his mother thought solemnly as she let go of her son. After years of pestering he finally got what he wanted although she had ulterior motives for sending him to Japan again. But he would soon find that out.  
  
*FLASH*  
"Hello I'm here to enroll for the second semester here. I just moved from Hong Kong. I'm an exchange student"   
"Ok fill out these forms and what's your name?"  
"Um... Li Xiao Lang."  
*END OF FLASHBACK*  
  
Yay!!! I'm finally finished the second chapter of the edited version of 'the return'. Thanks for reading this story again or for some, for the first time thanks. Please review and tell me how you enjoyed the newer version!! Pleeeeaaassseee??!?!?!??!!!  



	3. twilight meetings

A/N: Hello I'm back again with the next version. I have another hour or so, so I'm gonna get lots done tonight and hopefully post it very soon. By the way I am starting to write a novel which I'll try to get published!! Let's just hope it makes it. It has a great storyline and cool characters. Oh and if anyone knows how to get the pic up on their author's profile I'd greatly appreciate the help. So enough about me here's the newest version of my story...  
  
The return  
Chapter 3 - twilight meetings  
  
Place: in front of Sakura's house  
~~Before Syaoran unpacked~~  
  
Sakura was bent over with her hands on her knees breathing heavily. Once again Tomoyo had beaten her to her own house. Unfortunately Sakura was starting to pick up on Tomoyo's little secret.  
"Tomoyo?" she started looking up at her friend.  
"Yes?" she replied sweetly unaware of what she was going to have to answer.  
"How do you get here so fast?"  
"Practice." That wasn't actually a lie. Her and Eriol had been working on this little stunt for a few months.  
"Was Eriol part of this practice?"  
"...Um... maybe..."  
"Aha! I knew it!! You cheated and so I win. So now you have to make me and Kero both a dessert because you are a cheat!! Now then the only question is how many times have you forfeited to me? 10, 20, 100 times?" she pressed.  
"Well that's classified information."  
  
~~  
  
Later that evening, when Tomoyo and Sakura had settled in at Sakura's house and were up in her room chatting and planning out the weekend when a strange sensation came over Sakura and she stood up suddenly, interrupting Tomoyo's train of thought. It felt like very strong magic yet it seemed slightly familiar. She walked slowly to her darkened window and pushed out the glass to get a better feeling of who it might be.  
"Kero? Can you feel that?" she asked beckoning to the golden beast who had been asleep on her dresser.  
"Huh?" he asked groggily following Tomoyo towards the window to stand beside Sakura. He suddenly was wide-awake with the wave of magic.   
"W-what is that? No. Where is it coming from?" he asked feeling totally bewildered by the unknown presence of another source of magic. They only knew of four sources still living in Japan: Eriol, Yue and Kero (both of which had minimal powers in their current states) and Sakura herself.   
"It doesn't feel like Eriol or Yue. Who is it?" Sakura asked with worry evident in her voice. She turned to Kero expecting him to be smug from bearing the knowledge she didn't have but was surprised to find him frowning at her.  
"I'm sorry. I really don't know." He replied. Both mistress and beast feared the magic because it could be a card thief or worse.  
  
~~  
  
Syaoran had fallen asleep while remembering those past 24 hours when he was jolted awake by a strange feeling. 'It feels like someone is probing me.' He thought trying to probe back but the magical presence had disappeared.   
"Must have been my imagination. I'm just tired. I think I should get some more sleep. My mind is playing tricks on me." He said out loud and collapsed back on the bed.  
"I've got lots of things to do before tomorrow. I wonder if Sakura will be in the same school."   
He rolled back out of bed after trying his best to go back to sleep, and decided to get everything he needed for tomorrow ready then laze around for the first time since he went back to Hong Kong.  
He started to work on cleaning his uniform for the third time and polishing the shiny black shoes for the second time. Everything else he thought he had to do had been done and put into his school bag at the door.   
'Syaoran, why are you so bored?' he thought to himself trying to remember what else he could do that didn't involve the next day's uniform.  
'I guess I could start doing some of my training, or work on my magic...OR I could walk around and enjoy myself and clear my head.' He decided.   
He looked at the clock beside his bed he noticed it was only eight thirty and he had about three hours to walk. Grabbing his keys from the table he headed out the door and down the street towards Sakura's house.   
  
~~  
  
Two and a half hours later...  
  
After browsing the neighborhood and even downtown without much luck clearing his head, he walked towards the old penguin park. While walking he had his head bent over and barely noticed the young girl sitting beside him when he reached the swing set. She had shoulder-length auburn hair that covered her beautiful eyes, which were cast towards the tiny grains of sand that lined the park.  
"Hi." He mumbled as he sat next to her. She glanced up and noticed how familiar his features seemed.  
"You seem troubled." She remarked. "Want to share? I'm sure my life story is much more tragic than yours can ever be." She added.  
"I guess I can start by making friends with you. My name is Li Syaora-Xiao Lang. And you're wrong my life is horrible." He started.  
"You want to bet? My name is Kinomoto Sakura. Well..." she prompted.   
'S-Sakura? No it can't be her. I'll bet there are tons of girls around her age named Sakura. It can't be that easy to find her.' He thought to himself before trusting this girl with his story.  
"About six years ago I lived here but I had to leave and return to my family leaving behind the one person I loved most. The only problem with that was that I hadn't had the courage to tell her how I felt and I became miserable. Finally my family decided to let me return for her but I have no clue where to find her. I tried to look by her house, downtown and even here but I can't feel-I mean find her. Maybe it would have been easier to find her if I'd have kept in touch with her." He said trying to leave out the 'strange' parts. He looked up to find a surprised look on this girl's face.  
  
"What?" he asked. "I know it's not exactly horrible but I feel like my life hasn't been whole for six years."  
  
"It's actually kinda similar to my 'tragic' life. Just about six years ago I kind of liked this guy, too. But when he had to leave I chickened out and stayed in my room crying all day. He left without a backwards glance or saying goodbye and I never heard from him again. But I guess I deserved it."   
He just stared at her. He was left speechless. He thought it was amazing that in half an hour they had connected so easily.  
"I think we tied on that one." He chuckled softly filling the silence that had washed over them.  
"Yeah. So did you just move back then?" she replied making polite conversation.  
"Yeah just this morning. But the 'locals' aren't as friendly as I remember. Just as I was walking out of the school around the corner I was knocked over by a flash of pink."  
"That was you?!? Oh I'm really sorry for knocking you over. One of my friends and I were racing to my house. I guess I have to go now it's almost 11:00 and my brother and best friend will go nuts if they wake up to find me missing again. I hope I see you in school tomorrow." She stood up off the swing and ran towards the corner waving slightly as she disappeared around a corner.  
"What if she was Sakura?" he said to himself as he lifted himself off the swing pondering the possibility. "I could always check out if she has any magic tomorrow. But now I have to sleep." He said uselessly to stifle a yawn. He hadn't even noticed that she hadn't thrown herself at him like all other girls. Another someone who had followed Sakura had noticed that he was the only guy not to drool over his Sakura. "Maybe Sakura can finally get over that kid now." The furry stuffed animal said to himself and followed her back to the comfort of his very own bed.  
  
So how did you enjoy this one? There wasn't much changed but it seemed like it needed that extra touch. Next chapter will have more changes, I promise. I'll also introduce one more character that I had decided to leave out from the original. Her name is Lei Miorai. And she is the second most beautiful girl in school, which, like Jing, has gone to her head. You'll learn more in the next chapter. Please review!! And tell me how to do the picture thing too!!  
  



	4. tutor me, please!

A/N: well I've been able to do three edits in a row tonight. Let's see how this one goes. The reason I'm editing all of these chapters before I post chapter six is also because that chapter will have many changes and I'd like for those who have been reading it so far to understand all of the differences and not flame me cause they missed all of the edited stuff. So here we go again...  
  
The return  
Chapter 4 - Tutor me please!  
  
Disclaimer: I'm only gonna do this twice maybe this fic. Why bother. If anyone on this website owned any of the books, anime shows, songs, etc. they would have no need to write fanfics cause reality would not be a problem for them. I don't own CCS or Cardcaptors. Deal with it. But I do own Saurei Ch'en, Mr. Wakabayashi, Xun Lu, Miko Nagata and any others that don't appear in this series.  
  
Place: no need cause you already know that they're all in Japan. (Except Meilin who isn't in the story yet)  
  
  
Buzzzz.  
  
'What an odd sound for a bird.' Syaoran thought as he slowly lifted an eye to stare blankly at the source of the irritating sound. His alarm clock. 7:15 am. That's when he remembered where he was and that today was his first day of high school in Japan.  
"HOE!! I'm late!!" he cried vaguely recalling how familiar that phrase sounded. School was going to start in 45 minutes and he still had to do some training like he had promised his mother, and since he didn't start yesterday because he was enjoying his newfound freedom, he definitely had to do some before school started.  
"Oh well. I'll do it tonight." He said while jumping into the shower for a quick refreshing wake up.  
  
~~  
  
Ten minutes later he was dressed and flying out the door. He wanted to get there early to talk with the principle about possibly going into grade 11 math like he had done in Hong Kong.   
While going over his little speech in his head he almost knocked over Sakura who had also been rushing for similar reasons. Only she was finally going to talk to the principle about a tutor to help her in her worst subject. Math.   
"Oh I'm sorry, I should have watched where I was going." Syaoran exclaimed as the girl bent over her books that had fallen out of her backpack. "Oh, it's you!" he said excitedly as she stood straight up again.  
"It's ok. For once I'm actually early, but for a reason. Why are you going to school so early?" she asked as they both started to walk towards Seiju.   
"I'm just going in so I can ask for permission to go into grade eleven math. Grade ten math is just too easy for me." He stated as Sakura thought that her eyes were going to pop out from hearing this. But then she had an idea.  
"How about instead of going into grade eleven math you tutor me? I'm almost failing and it seems like no one knows how to make me understand it. That's actually the reason I'm early, I was just gonna ask the principle for one but this could work both ways. Trust me it's much more of a challenge than grade eleven." She pleaded, fluttering her eyelids playfully at him.   
"Sure, I'd love too, but I doubt it's as hard as you think." He replied as they walked on towards their school.  
  
~~  
  
"I think that's a great idea Sakura-Chan. You can start tutoring her when ever you'd like Li-kun." The principle was more than thrilled to let Xiao Lang tutor Sakura on a daily basis. Both were standing in front of the large oak desk of Mr. Wakabayashi, the principle.  
"Sure." Replied Xiao Lang.  
"Ok. Now then Sakura you can hurry to your first period class while we start looking for Akimoto-sensei's first class." He said while ushering the teen out of the door when she stopped him.  
"But he's my first period teacher. Surely I could walk him to class." She said trying to drop hints about the embarrassment of walking in with the principle on his first day. Luckily he wasn't as dense as some might think. Smiling he gave Xiao Lang his enrolment papers and a note to Akimoto-sensei about their tutoring arrangement and they left to find their first period class.   
  
~~  
  
"Nagata-san, have you seen Sakura today?" asked Sakura's first period math teacher, Akimoto-sensei as he was scrolling through the attendance list. Sakura seemed to be later than usual and it seemed slightly strange.  
"Yes, sensei. I saw her heading toward Mr. Wakabayashi's office with some new guy." A short girl with shoulder-length fiery red hair and deep blue eyes answered the teacher.   
  
Her full name was Miko Nagata and she had been friends with Sakura when they met at cheerleading practice in the beginning of grade 6, almost four and a half years ago. They had a small group of friends that they hung around with. Miko, of course, Xun Lu a Chinese boy bright red eyes and black hair cut just an inch above his shoulders (Like Ken from digimon if you need to know), Saurei Ch'en a tall girl with dark eyes and waist length black hair that is always in a ponytail that ends at her shoulders, and the strangest of all, Sashi Tsau a boy with chin length auburn hair dazzling green eyes and a wonderful smile that could only be found on one other person, Sakura.  
Everyone who saw Sashi and Sakura together thought that they were related, if not twins. They all met in grade six and became best friends.  
  
As Akimoto-sensei was about to continue with the attendance Sakura and Xiao Lang walked into the class. They walked over to the sensei and explained why they were late and about the agreement.   
"Ok. Thank you Kinomoto-san." Akimoto said and turned his attention to his new student while she walked to the back of the class to her window seat.   
  
While the sensei was talking with Xiao Lang Miko leaned over.  
"Who's the hottie?" she asked in a seductive voice causing Sakura to blush. She immediately turned her gaze towards the chalkboard.  
"I don't know. I just met him... last night." She whispered quickly, feeling her face quickly grow hotter by the second.   
"Ooh on one of your midnight walks?" she prodded. 'Oh kami-sama! Sakura blushing? I never would have guessed.' She thought.   
  
Miko loved this. Finally Sakura had found a guy she liked enough to blush while thinking about him.  
'This is one time I'm not gonna let her get away with this. I'm gonna get this out of her.' Miko promised herself. But before Sakura could protest or be bombarded with more questions the teacher had finished talking with Xiao Lang and was waiting for quiet. When the class quieted down he began.  
"Class, I'd like you to meet Li Xiao Lang. He's a transfer student from Hong Kong." He announced. Then added to Xiao Lang, "You can have a seat behind Kinomoto-san." And turned back to his work.  
Xiao Lang looked over at the class and noticed that most of the class bore two expressions on their faces. The girls were staring at him with drool hanging from their open mouths and a glazed, dreamy look in their eyes. The guys, however, had a much different look on their faces, a look of pure confusion and hatred. They had noticed their girls' stares and didn't know why but they were jealous of Syaoran, finally realizing how the girls felt every time Sakura came into a room.  
Only Sakura and her friends were smiling warmly at him. From his experience in Hong Kong, he didn't even notice the others.   
"I guess you could sit behind Sakura since you two already know each other." The sensei said and turned back to the previous days homework.  
"I guess I have a fan club here, too." He said to her nodding to a group of guys he had noticed while walking to the back. They looked particularly hostile and almost ready to tear off his head.  
While she took a quick glance at the group he slipped into the seat behind her.  
"Don't worry about him." She answered.  
"Him?" he asked, confused.  
"The guy nearest us is like their leader. His name is Jing Chan. I'll explain it later." She whispered over her shoulder.  
The sensei began the new semester's class by directing the class to take out their textbooks and notebooks.  
  
Ten minutes later the class was asked to pair up boy-girl if possible.   
At this, almost the entire class crowded around the back window where shouts were heard.  
"Oh Li-kun...please pick me!!."  
"Sakura, just this once pleeasee??!?"  
"You had her last week!!"  
But with a quick glance at each other they began to cautiously ward off their separate crowds.  
"I'm so sorry, guys, but this time I'm gonna help the new guy." She said while trying to find the room to stand up.  
"Yeah," agreed Xiao Lang. "Sakura promised to be my partner so I could help her in math...he he." he said scratching the back of his head while trying to think of something else to do.  
But luckily the crowd got the message and mumbling and groaning they began to find other partners leaving the pair alone.  
  
Over in the other corner Lei Miorai was complaining about her circumstances.  
"Once again I'm stuck with Jing. The one guy good enough for me and she decides to pounce and manages to sink her claws into him. Oh she'll pay...and then I'll get him." She glanced at Jing and shuddered.  
"You can have him so long as I can get her." He agreed, because her disgust for him was mutual.  
"We'll get them away from each other...in the end we'll be the lucky ones...just wait..."  
  
  
See!? I told you that my new character would be introduced in this chapter. Next time be ready for major changes. Even more than this one. Way more. It's a good thing you're reading this then isn't it. So many changes, so little time. Till the next installment!  
  
  



	5. more than just reputation

This chapter had by far the most edits...I actually re-wrote it. I've added a few more scenes and more information is given for some things. Thank you for reading so far and I hope you enjoy the last edited version, then you can finally get on with the story. By the way I've decided to finish chapter six before I post this and it's almost done anyways.  
  
The return  
Chapter 5 - more than just reputation   
  
By lunchtime all of the guys who had met Xiao Lang quickly learned that he wasn't a threat to their girls when they saw his reaction to the crowd around him. They were ashamed to have learned how the girls had felt every time Sakura walked by. Xiao Lang's good rep spread through the school very quickly.  
  
Only Jing hated Xiao Lang because of how quickly and easily he had warmed up to 'his' Sakura. 'He's just some new kid. It must be beginner's luck.' He thought to himself.  
  
But Xiao Lang had more skill than luck. In his second class he wowed his music sensei with his fantastic talents on the piano and playing the flute. Through his teachers his reputation spread to the teachers, too.  
  
In the staff room at lunch, teachers were passing around gossip about the new kid, too. Everyone was thrilled that he had aced every class for the past ten grades.  
"Can you believe that I heard that he 'volunteered' to help Sakura in MATH! If he can even help a tiny bit, then he'd be a hero in my books." One teacher said.  
"Yeah, well he's the best piano player I have ever seen in all my life." Crowed Suzuki-sensei, who was his music sensei that morning.  
When the principle walked in with Li-kun's schedule among other papers they crowded him to see if they would be teaching him at all.  
  
~~  
  
When lunchtime arrived for Xiao Lang, he instantly longed for the hearty, home-cooked meal he was too rushed in the morning to make.  
'I knew there was something else I forgot other than training...oh! Training, I totally forgot.' He mentally cursed himself for once again forgetting. Luckily he had left a few bucks in his wallet.  
As he inched his way towards the cashier he had a nagging feeling that he had forgotten something really important but after a few minutes of hard concentration he finally gave up and pushed the thought from his mind and paid for his lunch and walked into the large cafeteria.  
  
A small waving hand near the back caught his eye. Sakura called out for him to eat with her and her friends.  
  
"Konnichiwa." He said politely to the group as Sakura moved over to let him sit beside her.  
"Arigato." He added humbly to Sakura as he looked from face to face.  
"Oh, it's no problem." Answered the girl across from Sakura, he recognized from his first class.  
"I'm Miko Nagata. Xiao Lang Li, ne?" she added lightly.  
"Yeah." He answered glad to see that making new friends here was easier than he had thought it would be. Then Miko went on making introductions.  
"The guy beside Sakura-Chan is Xun Lu, and beside me is his girlfriend Saurei Ch'en and last but definitely not least this is my boyfriend." She concluded snuggling up to the guy on her left in front of him.  
"His name is Sashi Tsau." Whispered Sakura. Xiao Lang looked at Sashi and noticed the alikeness of him and Sakura. 'Wow, they're like twins.' He thought.  
"So..." Miko seemed full of conversation that day. "What were you and Sakura-Chan doing last night? I wonder..." she asked changing the subject quickly, and looking suspiciously at Xiao Lang then transferring her gaze to her friend and back to him.  
Luckily Sakura was quick to answer and came to his aid.  
"Oh we were just talking, nothing else, just talking. The opposite of what you were implying." she said defensively looking to Xiao Lang for back up.  
"Yeah we met in the park and just started to talk. Why? What else did you think we did?" he asked totally oblivious to Miko's meaning and then, "oh! NO! I-I'm not like that! Honest!" he exclaimed waving his hands up in protest once he caught on, making Miko laugh at his nervousness.  
  
~~  
  
In his next class, physical education, the sensei explained to the class that they would be learning about different martial arts training as a change from the regular program and would be working with the girls in the next class, which happened to be Sakura's gym class.  
Jing had made a great reputation for himself for his skills in the martial arts and was called upon to lead a demonstration. While he was showing off, the sensei walked over and showed the girls class in.  
Xiao Lang turned to wave at Sakura, Miko and Saurei but caught the unwanted attention of Jing who quickly challenged him to a battle.  
"Ah! Li-kun. Would you like to volunteer to test your skills on me?" he asked haughtily, taking his fighting stance, not bothering with the usual tradition of bowing to his partner.  
"Sure," he answered, standing up to face him, he never refused a battle. "But I don't think I'm at your skill level."   
"On that, I'd have to agree." Jing laughed in response as Xiao Lang walked onto the mats. "Prepare to die." He added and took a swipe at Xiao Lang's head with his fist.  
This is where all of his lifelong training came in handy. He quickly ducked and knocked Jing's feet out from under him causing him to land on his back.  
"Yeah," Xiao Lang added. "I'm way out of your league."  
This outraged Jing and with a quick leap he was once again he was facing Xiao Lang.  
  
By now all of the girls were crowded around the pair along with the guys who had noticed the new guy's obvious skills and were staring speechless. But at the back of the gym the two teachers were talking.  
"This must be that new kid everyone's been talking about. This'll definitely be a worthwhile fight." Whispered Mihara-sensei, the girl's gym teacher.  
"I quite agree." Nodded Yota-sensei when he noticed Jing's red face and the steam that seemed to pour from his ears.  
  
"Why do you hate me so much Chan-kun?" Xiao Lang asked while blocking his punches and kicks.  
"You should know. Everyone else does. Sakura was supposed to be mine then you came along and spoiled my chances. I have the right to be mad." He growled loudly in response making Sakura, who had heard everything like everyone else, blush for the third time that day.  
Jing kept kicking and punching and noticed that his opponent had neither answered nor attacked yet. But at the same time he realized the mistake he had made. He had tired himself out so much that finally he had no strength left to block any of Xiao Lang's attacks, which was exactly what he had wanted.  
With a quick fluid motion, Xiao Lang jumped into the air, did a quick flip and landed squarely on Jing's back causing him to collapse with a sickening thud.  
Just before the two classes applauded his performance, he exclaimed,  
"I didn't take Sakura away from anyone. If she doesn't want you then that's not my fault or even my problem. That's yours. And Sakura is a person, not some object you have a right to own." He finished and stepped daintily off of Jing's back.  
Mihara-sensei and Yota-sensei both walked up to the crowd and started to disperse the classes into their groups and start the lesson. They were about to begin teaching when something happened.  
"What about us?" lei interrupted. "Why can't we fight Li-kun, too?" She asked getting the support of the rest of the girls. But she just wanted an excuse to get closer to him.  
"Why not let us test our skills?" added Sakura.  
After some coaxing Mihara-sensei agreed and asked if Li-kun would mind testing the girls too while Jing rested.  
"No, I don't mind. In fact I'd love it. I can train like I had promised my mother when I left." He exclaimed with a grin.  
  
One by one, girls lined up to try uselessly, to defeat him but one by one they all failed. Even lei landed embarrassingly on her back with a light thud.  
"Is that it?" Xiao Lang asked with genuine interest.  
"Sakura-Chan can beat him." Miko pointed out eager to see some interaction between the two, and getting agreements from almost all of the girls and looks of worry from the guys. Sakura had a fighting reputation that was much greater than Jing's.  
"What a great idea, Sakura? Stand up for your fellow girls!" Mihara-sensei cheered with much enthusiasm.   
"Ok." Sakura smiled and walked up to the fighting mats, taking the familiar fighting stance.  
Without giving her a chance to think he back-kicked. But he was a few seconds too slow because a second earlier Sakura ducked and caught his from under him, knocking him flat on his face. Most of the class hadn't even seen what had happened but just saw that one minute he was standing then the next minute he was sprawled on the floor.  
This had been the first blow anyone had delivered to him, that he hadn't been able to block or dodge, that hurt him in some way.  
"You're actually true to your reputation, unlike grumpy over there." He nodded over to where Jing was muttering to himself in a corner, and smiled as he got back to his feet. Then, faster than the eye could see, he knocked Sakura to the floor some feet away.  
After that, they matched each other's moves perfectly, finally causing both to collapse in exhaustion, declaring a tie.  
  
~~  
  
"So what extra-curricular activities are there here?" Xiao Lang asked, glancing towards the rest of the class, learning the martial arts.  
"Well... there's cheerleading, if you're interested." Sakura giggled, light-heartedly.  
"Ha, ha." He laughed sarcastically. "No, I'm serious. What sports does your school have?"  
"Well, we have soccer tryouts this afternoon on the field. And then there's volleyball, basketball and I think we're starting a track team in the spring."  
"The soccer sounds good. I think I'll try out for the team after school." He said turning to look at Sakura. She looked slightly worried about what he had just said.  
"I thought you'd start tutoring me tonight!" she exclaimed.  
"oh yeah." He remembered. "how about you wait for me and we can walk to my apartment.  
"ok." She sounded relieved.  
  
Jing looked over at the 'happy couple' who were chatting in the corner waiting for the bell to ring, and gritted his teeth in anger.  
"I think we should start making our move on them by the end of the week." Lei whispered into his ear. He looked at her and nodded.  
'just you wait, Li-kun. She'll be mine and you'll be left with NOTHING.' He thought to himself evilly...  
  
THERE!!! Finally I have finished my editing journey!!! I told you this chapter had major editing. Can you believe that it's almost 2000 words!!! From now on you will enjoy new chapters!!!! I have almost finished writing the rough draft of the end of this story. Don't worry, the ending WILL disappoint you but that's cause there's a sequel in the making. Trust me you'll love the end though. Ja ne.   
  
~*blue-eyed angel*~  
  



	6. the white, black and blue ball

Starting this chapter you might see some bits you wont understand if you haven't read the other chapters that I've fixed up. This is because I've decided that the story needs a lot of work. Also there will be a lot of S+S scenes (or should I say X+S) and some (very little, but still some) E+T. I also have more people in it and I added more scenes to the past chapters that are kind of vital to the plotline of this chapter and it will be the source of information in chapters to come. Please read the other chapters before this one cause I wont answer to flames about the changes if you haven't seen the edits. But if you have already read the last five chapters then please continue...  
  
The Return  
Chapter 6 - the white, black and blue ball  
  
"Now, to those of you who are new, or never made the team last year, I'm glad you've decided to try out this year. The players who are still here from last years team will test you out and then I will chose the five that I see fit to play." Explained Yota-sensei, who also happened to coach the soccer team.  
Xiao Lang glanced over at the six other players from last year's team, who were standing behind the sensei. Unfortunately, Jing seemed to be the captain from last year.  
"You guys can choose who you'd like to test but I'm going to see if Li-kun's soccer skills match his fighting, too." Smiled the sensei, bringing Xiao Lang to his side, much to the dismay of Jing, as the others began the tryouts.  
  
~~  
  
Half an hour later, Li-kun was named co-captain with Jing, who was on the edge of ripping him apart. The guy's who hadn't made the team were in the showers while the new team was having a chat with Yota-sensei.  
"Maybe this year we'll win!!" he cheered. The tryouts had gotten the team some very good players.  
Yota-sensei quickly went over their training schedule and when their first game would be, and then dismissed them to shower and go home.  
  
~~  
  
"Where did she go?" Xiao Lang asked himself after searching the bleachers. He had showered and changed and was looking for Sakura, who had told him that she'd wait for him from behind the bleachers.  
He was turning to go when something hit him in the head hard from behind, knocking him to the floor breathless. Then he vaguely recalled being dragged by many hands around behind the bleachers into the shadows. He was then hoisted up to stand and punched in the face and in the gut not giving him time to catch his breath or think straight; he couldn't fight back or defend himself. Briefly his eyes were open long enough to glance into the face of his attacker.  
'Where have I seen those eyes?' he thought, not even noticing that the evil glimmer in those same eyes.  
"JING!? LEAVE HIM ALONE!" a familiar feminine voice cried out. He heard a very loud smack and then the hands supporting him disappeared leaving him to fall helplessly to the floor, again.  
"Are you ok?" the girl asked and rushed to his side and rolled him over with his head on her knee.  
"S-Sakura?" he asked believing her to be his ten-year-old love.  
"Yeah, it's me." She answered then gasped when she caught sight of his eye. "Oh my goodness, your eye!! What happened, Xiao Lang?" but hearing the name he was currently using in Japan, brought reality crashing down on him. He sat up on his own and rubbed his head.  
"I was looking for you and someone jumped me. I couldn't get back to my feet cause someone was holding me back...I recognized the person hitting me but...I don't know... I can't remember right now...my brain's all fuzzy." He answered getting to his feet. "But I know I knew him from somewhere." He added, swaying slightly before steadying himself against a steel pole of the bleachers.   
"It was Jing Chan. Remember? The guy who you beat in gym class today." She explained trying to help him remember.  
"Oh yeah." He said and the subject was dropped.  
Xiao Lang picked up his backpack, which had been dropped several feet away, and they started walking towards his apartment in silence.   
  
~~  
  
Much later, Sakura was lying on her stomach on his bed doing her homework after a quick lesson, muttering words about how easy the homework seemed after Xiao Lang's help.  
Xiao Lang was lying on the floor, staring at the ceiling, thinking to himself. He figured that Sakura had slapped Jing and he had left but he didn't understand why he hadn't been able to fight back.  
'I've been training since I was born, so how could I have let something like this happen? The wind was knocked out of me. That hasn't happened since I used the time card. Sakura shouldn't have hit Jing. Now he'll be after her. He has way to much anger.' He tried futilely to sort out the million thoughts going through his head. 'What an interesting first day of school...'  
"Done!" Sakura cried, shaking him out of his reverie. He sat up and looked at Sakura who was smiling proudly.  
"Great." He smiled back. But at the same exact moment Sakura's gaze had drifted to a small digital clock on the nightstand beside her. Her look of pride quickly changed into worry.  
"HOE!" SHE CRIED. "I'm late for dinner! It's almost nine." She rushed out of the bedroom grabbing her bag and coat along the way.  
"Wait!" Xiao Lang called after her, following her to his front door where she was already half out the door.  
"What, did I forget something?" she asked shooting a worried glance back towards the bedroom.  
"No, it's just-...why don't you stay for dinner? It's no trouble for me and you can call your brother or father or whoever is home now. I'm sure they wouldn't mind if they knew you were also getting help, too." He offered. She hesitated for a second going over the idea in her head.  
"Are you sure you wouldn't mind?" he shook his head lightly and smiled when she lowered her bag to the floor and slipped out of her shoes.  
  
"So," he started, showing her into the kitchen. "What would you like me to make?" he asked, taking down some pots and a bowl. "I can make just about anything."  
"Well...can you make lo mein? With chicken? It's on of my favorites." She asked.  
"Of course." He said and went straight to work as Sakura went over to his phone and explained to her father that she was staying over at a new friends house and that she wouldn't be home for dinner.  
"Yeah, he's gonna make me something to eat." Xiao Lang overheard some of what he was saying. He glanced into a shiny steel pot at his reflection and saw the damage Jing had done to his eye.  
'Ouch.' He thought to himself as he passed his hand in front of his eye. When he looked again the bruise had healed only leaving a slight discoloration that would disappear by morning. Sakura wouldn't notice a thing.  
  
When she put down the phone she once again felt the presence of familiar magic only it was much closer now. When it disappeared she believed it to be her imagination.  
'Keep dreaming, Sakura. He's not coming back.' She told herself and walked back into the kitchen, where Xiao Lang had already put out the food.  
"Wow, that was fast." She exclaimed as she slipped into a tall stool in front of where he sat. "And it looks so good" she added and placed a forkful of noodles in her mouth.  
"Thanks." He said quietly for her to take the first bite.  
"Mmmmm..." Sakura moaned, as the first piece hit her mouth. It was heavenly. "Oh, this is the best dish I've ever had!!" she exclaimed when she'd finished the first bite. Xiao Lang smiled, glad that his new friend was enjoying his unique way of cooking.  
"Did you ever notice how easily we connected last night? We just automatically became friends." He asked.  
"Yeah. It's like I've known you forever. Weird, huh?" she noted curiously and continued to eat.  
  
~~  
  
"Okay. So, the same time tomorrow?"  
"Yeah. Bye Sakura."  
"Bye." Sakura said and walked down the hall.  
When the elevator came, she waved slightly and disappeared through the doors.  
Xiao Lang closed his door, walked into his bedroom and flopped down on his bed, taking in the new Sakura's scent.  
'Ah.' He sighed to himself.  
"NO!!" he screamed, sitting straight up. "I've forgotten about 'my' Sakura. The reason I'm in Japan in the first place." He jumped off his bed and started to pace, thinking of ways in which he could find her. But nothing he did could get rid of the picture of a beautiful teenage girl that seemed etched onto his brain.  
"Argh!!" he cried after much thought. "Tomorrow. I'll do it tomorrow..." and he was asleep by the time his head hit the pillow.  
  
  
Yes. This is finally done...no not the story but the chapter. Do you really think he'll find her or is my tragic ending gonna be that he never knows where she is??? Will he actually fall in love with Sakura all over again??? Or will one of them catch on to the magical connection??? Ok. I think I've created enough suspense...wait, one other thing, in the next chapter a short detail of what happens is: Sakura's actions backfire. Oh and there wouldn't be a good romance without a high school dance, ne?  
  
  
  
(*Could somebody help me with that picture thingy, too, please!!!!!! *)  



	7. premonitions just arent what they're cra...

I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviewed for my stuff I really like the comments. Thanks for reviewing this so fast... so few...  
Sakurabunnie: the Sakuras are the same only when I say 'Sakura' I'm referring to the teenager, not the one from many years ago.   
  
  
The Return  
Chapter 7 - premonitions just aren't what they're cracked up to be  
  
  
"No! You can't leave me. Please don't be like Syaoran." She pleaded with the tall dark figure that was walking out of the door.  
"I have to Sakura. I swear I'll come back again, for you. I'm so sorry to leave but I have to." A familiar husky voice replied but the figure never turned around as he walked out of the door.  
"XIAO LANG!!" she cried. "I love you. Please don't leave. Don't leave me alone..." her voice trailed off. But nothing would bring him back...  
  
~~  
  
"NO!!!" Sakura cried as she woke suddenly. Her pillow was soaked from many tears. She glanced at her clock, which read 6:59 a.m. 'I woke up before the alarm went off?' she wondered as she turned off the alarm and got out of bed.  
"What a strange dream." She said to her reflection in the mirror. Something about it seemed prophetic.  
"Xiao Lang's not going to leave me anytime soon, not without the girl he came for. And I'm not in love with him." But she jotted it down in her diary all the same.  
"Uh...what time is it? I never heard the alarm." Came a groggy voice from her dresser drawer, which was slightly ajar.  
"It's six o'clock, Kero and I woke up early today so I turned it off." At this comment Kero really woke up and flew out and straight to Sakura.  
"What do you mean 'you woke up early'?" he asked suspiciously. Sakura hadn't been early for anything and her cheeks were tear-stained and her eyes were red from crying.  
"I had a weird dream and it woke me up. I'm gonna go and have a shower and I'll tell you more about it later." She answered and rushed into the warm shower to wash away the weird vibe she was getting from the dream.  
  
~~  
  
When Sakura opened the door to homeroom, she saw Jing and his buddies in the back of the room, laughing their heads off.  
When they caught sight of her walking towards her seat they cornered her.  
"So... how's our lover boy now?" crooned one guy as Jing grabbed her by the arms and pinned her to the wall.  
"You make me sick." She spat into his left eye. "How could you attack him?" she yelled.  
"He's a wuss. He's not so hot when there isn't an audience." He laughed at her and wiped his eye. "And I'll make sure you regret slapping me." He sneered and gripped her even tighter, which was starting to hurt and it was scaring her. Nobody else was there but she still refused to use her magic on anyone.  
"STOP IT!" she screamed. "It hurts." She wailed because by then she was starting to develop bruises on her arms.   
"Leave her alone or regret it." Bellowed a deep, husky voice, Sakura recognized as the same one from her dream, Xiao Lang. He was standing at the door looking furiously at Jing.  
He didn't have to do or say anything else because at that moment the rest of the class started to pour into the room.  
Jing released her and she collapsed into her seat. Xiao Lang walked up to her and sat behind her.  
"Your eye!" Sakura whispered when she noticed that his bruise had disappeared, but also to keep the conversation off of her confrontation with Jing. It didn't work.  
"It healed fast, but are you ok? Did he hurt you?" he asked quietly looking worried as the sensei walked into class.  
"No, I'm fine I think. He was just holding me too tightly." Sakura breathed slowly. "I'm fine." She repeated still feeling slightly anxious about what had happened.  
Xiao Lang wasn't convinced she was ok, but he dropped the subject as the teacher started announcements.  
  
~~  
  
"Are you still coming over, tonight?" Xiao Lang asked as he walked out of the school, beside Sakura. Soccer practice was every other day so he left early with the rest of the students.  
"Yeah." she answered with a slightly pained expression. She rubbed her arm over where the bruises were and winced.  
"I made you a small snack. But it's for when you're finished everything." He forced a smile trying hard not to think about her pain.  
'Just wait until you get to your apartment and then try to ask what happened. You're more likely to get her to open up there than on a crowded street corner.' He told himself with patience but he desperately wanted to help her at that very moment and not wait like he had done all of his life.  
  
~~  
  
"Done!" the cheer was once again heard when Sakura finished her homework.  
"Great! Are you ready for my snack, now?" He asked as he stood up. He walked towards the kitchen, beckoning for her to follow.  
"Yeah! What is it? She asked, following him.  
"It's a surprise." He laughed totally forgetting about her bruised arm. He opened the fridge door and pulled out a small box.  
"I made it this morning." He added and lifted the lid to reveal a small chocolate cake big enough for one piece each.  
"Oh, that looks so delicious!" she exclaimed and went to wrap her arms around his neck but the moment he connected with her bruises she winced in pain and drew away from him.  
"Sakura! Are you ok? Let me see your arm." He demanded and she willingly obliged.  
"I'm ok." She muttered and pulled up her sleeve, wincing again as it was pulled over her arm. I revealed a bruise that almost covered her entire forearm. The same was true for her other arm.   
"Oh Kami-sama" he mouthed. He slowly waved his hand over each and instantly the pain receded. He knew that if this were his Sakura no one would have known he had used magic. By mid morning the bruise would be almost completely healed.  
"Don't worry. I bruise easily. I'm sure it'll be gone in a few days." She said and rolled down her sleeves.  
"Ok." He resigned.  
"So, did you make this just for me?" she asked sweetly as he took out two plates and put each piece on a plate.  
"Yep." He answered taking out two forks and handed her a plate. She instantly took a bite.  
"This is wonderful, thanks." She said and together they walked towards the living room and to the couch and flipped on the TV.  
"I can't stand all of those guys asking me to the dance." Sakura exclaimed between mouthfuls of cake.   
During the morning announcements their sensei had announced that in two weeks there would be a dance and since the Halloween dance from last semester had been cancelled due to an earthquake, they decided to make the coming one a costumed one. A costume got you in for free.  
"Are you even going?" Xiao Lang asked.  
"Yeah, of course."  
"Why don't we go together? Like as friends?" he asked. "It would help to get rid of the girls asking me out, too." He added lightly making her laugh.  
"Sure, I'd love to."  
  
~~  
  
"I guess I'll see you in class tomorrow, then." He exclaimed as he lead he to the front door, when he reached for the handle Sakura felt an overwhelming sense of dread and realized that in her dream, Xiao Lang left her at his apartment. Through that same door.  
'No, it was just a stupid dream." She shook her head and smiled as he led her out the door.  
"Bye."   
When he shut the door he once again felt in heaven.  
"She's almost like my- MY Sakura!! That's what I forgot." He cried out to no one as he grabbed his coat and ran out once again to try to find the reason he returned.  
'How could I be such a baka and forget all about her?' he chided himself and began to search for his cherry blossom, not knowing he had found her on his first day back in Japan.  
  
~~  
  
Around midnight he gave up his search for another day. Disappointed he walked slowly to his apartment miserable. He opened his door and kicked off his shoes. He slowly changed into his sweatpants and a tank top.  
His last thought before he slipped unconscious was,  
'I'll never ever see her again...'  
  
  
  
Yay! I've finally finished this chapter and now I'm gonna type up chapter 8. I've written all of the chapters including the last one (I stayed up all night finishing chapters 9 - the last one...no I wont tell you what chapter it is. I actually stayed up till 5 a.m. to finish it and I had to wake up at 6 a.m. the next morning. I almost fell asleep in last period!! But I finished it so be happy!)   
I'm gonna type up all of the chapters and then the sequel to this story. Then hopefully I get the chance to finish my two other long stories.   
One more thing, if you wanted to you could leave your e-mail address and I'll e-mail you when I have posted each chapter. Don't worry, I'm too busy to stalk anyone or send you junk mail. It's only for if you don't check ff.n every day or want me to tell you when I've posted the next chapter, since they decided to put a price on the author alert. Ja.   



	8. strangely familiar

Konnichiwa!! I'm gonna try to type up the next chapters as soon as possible and get it all posted. Thanks to all those who reviewed for my story and I want to dedicate this chapter to my little stuffed animals, Ruku and Kayo because they have inspired me to write more...at least Ruku has. Anyways...is this the one with the dance?? Or after? Hold on lemme check my folder...ooh!! It is!!! You've gotta love this chapter!! It has major mush and blushing and screaming and music and costumes and gossipy girls and mentioning of the following word... 'Kawaii'. And there is some kissing. But I wonder who?!? Maybe it's wrong to get you guys anxious to read in the beginning but who kisses who? Why? How far into the story? WILL IT EVEN HAPPEN IN THIS CHAPTER!!?? Find out for yourself...  
  
The Return  
Chapter 8 - Strangely Familiar  
  
With music blaring in the background and students all jammed into the cafeteria, the dance began. Sakura walked in and squeezed through the crowd until she found her friends.  
"Hoe. You guys just had to be the group farthest from the door." She complained when she saw them. They brushed the comment off.  
"Hey! Nice outfit." Commented Sashi, with a suggestive grin, which earned him a slap from Miko.  
"What!?" he whined. Her outfit was a fitted black bodysuit, long black cape and a hat to match. Her outfit had a metallic blue thread around the edges and every so often you could catch a glimpse of the knee-high black, heeled boots with sparkling blue swirls sewn onto the top edge. Her long honey hair was let loose and flowed over her shoulders and into her face giving her overall appearance a mysterious look. It was obviously a Tomoyo original. She had made it especially for the dance for Sakura.  
"I'd have to admit that Tomoyo's out done herself on this one. Saurei agreed with Sashi, shooting a warning glare to Xun, warning him not to say the wrong thing.  
He kept his mouth shut and smiled, pleasing his girlfriend.  
"Has anyone seen Xiao Lang yet?" Sakura asked. Nobody had, but sudden screams from the front doors told her that he just got there.   
Sakura could barely make out the whispers from girls who had already seen him.  
"He is the hottest guy I've ever met." Cheered one girl.  
"Did you see that outfit? Totally hot...literally." Laughed another.  
This chatter enticed Sakura and she wondered what his outfit was. But she didn't have to wait long. A hand crept around her waist and pulled her into their embrace. When she caught the familiar scent of cinnamon she gasped. A deep husky voice whispered into her ears.  
"Were you looking for me?" he asked sweetly and let her turn around but keeping her in his embrace.  
"Yeah" she smiled and stepped back to look at his clothes.  
It was shockingly similar to her own. Like the ceremonial robes he wore when he was ten, he had the same style of hat. But instead of green and gold, it was black with metallic blue edges. His shirt was a deep black with blue flames outlined on the wrists showing the flare of the sleeves. He had a wide black belt like his old robes and long black pants hat also flared, with matching blue flames outlined on the ankles. The finishing touches included a long, plain black cape and plain black shoes.  
"Wow!" she exclaimed as he too stared at her outfit.  
"Yeah. That style seems so familiar...where did you get that?" he asked her wondering if Tomoyo had started a clothing line already.  
"I had one of my friends make it for me. But she doesn't go to this school." She answered. "What about yours?" she wondered aloud.  
"These are actually my new family robes. They're hand made, too." He exclaimed proudly for he had a say in the making of his robes.  
  
Sashi, Saurei, Miko and Xun pushed their way through the crowd and finally found Xiao Lang and Sakura. Seeing the two together with their similar costumes made their jaws drop to the floor.  
"Did you two plan this?" asked Sashi, who spoke first.  
"No." Sakura laughed and closed Xun's jaw bringing most of them back to reality.  
"Well, that is the strangest coincidence I have ever seen." Exclaimed Xun. Then him and Sashi glanced at their girlfriends, who were still staring at Xiao Lang with glazed eyes.  
"Nu-uh. If I cant then neither can you." Sashi whispered to Miko, snapping both girls' attentions back to the dance.  
  
~~  
  
A slow song began and their friends disappeared leaving Sakura and Xiao Lang to notice that almost every eye was on them pleading for a dance.  
"Does everyone want to dance with us?" asked Sakura densely.  
"Uh...I think so." He whispered back, but neither of them felt much like dancing so he grabbed he arm and guided her outside to the hall.  
  
When they glanced back to the cafeteria they noticed that only a few couples were dancing and the rest was lined up against the walls waiting for them to return. As soon as the song finished, Miko and Saurei grabbed Sakura and went off leaving Xiao Lang to talk with Xun and Sashi.  
"So...are you gonna ask her to dance?" Sashi asked, nudging him in the ribs.  
"Yeah. It's so obvious you like her." Added Xun, laughing at Xiao Lang's bewildered look.  
"Demo...I never said I liked Sakura. What makes you say that?!?" he protested.  
"Who said anything about Sakura?" Xun asked innocently, trying to conceal his growing smile.  
"You must have thought that we were because we noticed that you've been staring at her since she went over there." Sashi laughed openly.  
"Not only that but you're starting to drool." At this they both broke into peals of laughter.  
"What?" he asked. He wasn't listening to them because he was staring over at Sakura, but he had caught on to the just of what they were saying.  
"It's not that bad. Almost every guy in this school likes her, too. But they aren't friends with her." He added.   
"I don't like her like that." Xiao Lang denied, crossing his arms and lifting his nose slightly trying to convince them of his lie.  
Another slow song began and he started to worry about the innocent stares they were giving him. The Eriol-kind.   
"Ok then don't think of it as wanting to dance with her, think of it as saving her." Sashi smirked and pointed behind them to where a crowd of guys had cornered her onto a tall stack of tables to try and escape her followers. Without hesitation Xiao Lang pushed his way through the crowd, shoving past lei as she tried to get him to dance, and hopping up beside her. She looked into his eyes and silently pleaded with him to help her. Miko and Saurei were on the floor trying to barricade the guys but couldn't hold out.  
"Would the lady honor me with a dance?" he asked as gentlemanly-like as he could and then whispered into her ears.  
"Let me help you. I think this might get out of hand soon." She smiled at him, relieved, and followed him off the tables and onto the dance floor.   
In the center of the room, she wrapped her arms around his neck and for a few moments got lost in the music and the swaying of their bodies. When he pulled her in closer to him, she didn't resist and rested her head on his shoulder, taking in his wonderful cinnamon scent and closed her eyes. 'This feels like heaven.' She thought contently to herself.  
"Thanks for rescuing me back there." She whispered, barely audible to the people around them.  
"No problem." He answered back, closing his eyes, too.  
"You know, I'm glad we became friends. You aren't like those other guys who just want to use me. You like me for me. They never even tried to get to know me." She breathed into his neck softly.  
"Is that a compliment?" he asked, making her smile as they swayed to the music.  
"I guess you could say that." She answered.  
"Thanks."  
"Will you walk me home?" she asked moving back a bit to look into his warm eyes.  
"Of course." He said and smiled. Satisfied, she moved back into his embrace and neither said another word.  
  
~~  
  
"They look so kawaii together!!" exclaimed Saurei, who was dancing with her boyfriend. "Yeah. Tomoyo's missing a great camera moment. She'd probably call it: Sakura's first major crush since the Syaoran incident." He laughed as he twirled her.  
"Do you think that they'll fall in love?" she asked seriously. "I really want her to be happy. I don't want her to be hurt again."  
"I hope she finds love again. I know she's been through a lot. She deserves to be happy." Xun answered but she still looked troubled. "What is it?"  
"It's just... I don't know. I feel like this isn't going to go the way we want it to. What if she falls for him and he leaves? Do you think she'd be able to survive another broken heart?" she asked.   
"If he leaves her I'd personally hurt him. And I know Miko and Sashi would be, too." He growled looking in the direction of Xiao Lang and Sakura again.  
"On a lighter note, they look as though they've known each other forever." She said smiling.  
"Yeah." he agreed. "Almost as if that guy never left her. He was a Li too, right? It's almost like Xiao and Syao are one and the same." He added looking down at Saurei. She had a strange look on her face, but he knew right away what she was thinking. "No. No digging." He put simply.  
"But what if-"  
"No." he said with a warning in his voice. She had been around Miko too long. It was usually her who went digging around for dirt.   
"Fine." She resigned and twirled again.  
  
~~  
  
Throughout the entire dance, Xiao Lang and Sakura found comfort in each other's arms. They always found comfort when each slow song began and instantly they were together basking in the warmth radiating from the other's body.  
Lei and Jing tried a few times to catch them before they started dancing but they were ignored. Sakura and Xiao Lang seemed inseparable.   
Eventually people took the hint and stopped asking them to dance. And although he would never admit it to Xun or Sashi, he was falling for her. Very hard and fast and it scared him a little bit. He never thought anyone could replace his Ying Fa but the girl in his arms was irresistible inside and out.  
By the end of the dance, he was thankful to have taken the initiative to dance with her and didn't want it to end. Neither did Sakura. But they reluctantly walked out of the cafeteria along with the rest of the school, holding hands so they wouldn't lose each other in the mass of students.  
When they finally made it outside, they found their friends and walked towards the park, laughing and talking about the past hours.  
"You should have seen Lei!!" laughed Miko. "She tried everything she could to catch you alone to dance with her, but you were always with Sakura." She told Xiao Lang. He blushed but remained silent.  
"Yeah. Jing had the same reaction with Sakura. You two were inseparable." Sashi laughed and nudged Xiao Lang in the ribs.  
"No we weren't." protested Sakura futilely, not changing anyone's mind about the 'newest couple'. Xiao Lang on the other hand had an idea.  
"Oh Sakura ... why deny it to them." he smirked and stopped where he was, making everyone turn around and stare at him. He turned to Sakura, who was looking at him like he was crazy.  
"Let's not hide it anymore. I love you and you know you want me" he said dramatically and swept her into his arms. To surprise everyone he engulfed her in a deep passionate kiss. If Sakura hadn't caught on in time, she would have beaten him to death, but instead she played along and kissed back, trying not to laugh.   
After a few minutes they parted and glanced back at their friends. Miko almost died of shock. They all had expected denial, but this was too sudden.  
"You...but...y-you really...you've only known each other for three weeks!!" stuttered Xun, who could barely manage one sentence.  
"Well... if you insist. I guess it was too good to be true. I guess we don't like each other." Xiao Lang laughed.  
"Yeah, too good to be true." Sakura smiled. And together they kept walking, leaving their astonished friends behind. They were still trying to sort through the kiss.  
"But... you kissed...how...you cant just kiss like that and say it wasn't something!" Miko cried. "How do you think Tomo-chan will feel when I tell her you kissed another guy and she missed it? She yelled using Tomoyo's nickname, and started chasing them. "You can't do that to us!!" she called out. But Sakura just laughed giddily and the group followed them straight to Penguin Park.  
"I've got the right swing!" called Sakura, as if she was a child again and raced Xiao Lang for it.  
They were only a few feet from them, when the swings started to shake violently. Everyone stopped in their tracks and noticed that the ground beneath them was shaking, too.  
When the ground was still again, the others caught up to the pair at the swings.  
"What the hell was -" Xiao Lang started but was interrupted by another tremor, far worse than before. Sakura was caught off guard by the sudden trembling and lost her balance, falling right into Xiao Lang and landed right on top of him.  
"Ouch. Oh, gomen nasai." She blushed when she saw where she landed, but when the tremors became more turbulent, she tightened her grip on his shirt and put her head against his chest, shutting her eyes as tight as she could.   
"It's ok. You didn't hurt me." He whispered, holding her in his arms. She was shaking so much.  
'Why is she so scared?' he thought. Then he caught a sickening feeling; the presence of magic was behind the earthquake.  
"You'll be alright." He whispered to her, trying his best to make her stop shaking. He kissed her forehead gently and her shaking turned into only slight trembling.  
He turned to see where the others went and saw Xun protecting Saurei, crouched next to a bench and Miko and Sashi were hiding under the slide. He looked straight ahead of him and saw millions of bright shining stars. He stared at them until the tremors stopped a few minutes later.  
They slowly and shakily got to their feet. Sakura had been so frightened by the earthquake that she clung to Xiao Lang because she, too, had felt the evil magic, and it terrified her. He didn't mind.  
"What was that?" he asked again.  
"Another stupid earthquake." Sashi answered, dusting himself off.  
"What do you mean 'another'?" he asked slightly confused. The last earthquake he remembered was when him and Sakura were confronted with the earth card.  
"T-there's been a few earthquakes in the past few months." Sakura spoke up shakily.   
"We better be going home. It's pretty dark out, now." Saurei said and Xun agreed with her and together they walked off. Miko and Sashi agreed and took off in the opposite direction.  
"Well, I did promise to walk you home didn't I?" Xiao Lang asked, making Sakura smile and feel a bit safer.  
"Yeah, I live this way." She said and they walked off towards her home.  
  
~~  
  
"How could that tramp kiss my Xiao Lang!?!" screamed Lei, furious that they would kiss.  
"Hey! It was your Xiao Lang who kissed her." Jing yelled back. They had followed the group a few meters away and saw the kiss. They hid in the bushes and followed them.  
"I'll deal with it later. It's too late to think." She huffed while trying to stifled a yawn. She walked out of the bushes and disappeared down the street.   
'You know, she's not so bad when you get to know her, I guess.' He thought and walked the other way.  
  
  
Okay. I think that's more than enough for this chapter. I warn you for the next chapter though...it is a horrible one because... well you'll just have to find out when I post it. I've decided to finish chapter nine and post chapter seven. Then while I work on 11(I pre-wrote 10) I'll post one chapter a day until I finish eleven and then you'll have to wait cause I know chapter twelve will be hard to type up. Then we'll see. I've decided to also do a trilogy instead of a sequel. The third part to this story will be more action but still lots of romance. I've even hinted about everything to come. If you like the idea of a sequel then I'll work from there. By the end of the sequel if you want more than I'll continue. I actually have a lot of great ideas.   
Also, if you want me to e-mail you when the next chapter is up then tell me!!!!  
  
  
(P.S. I'm not sure I mentioned this in the previous chapters but Sakura's hair comes to about the middle of her back.)  



	9. the unofficial end or the burning letter

To those of you who are reading this I'd like to say beforehand that I'm very, very sorry!!! This is probably gonna kill a lot of the fans but something had to happen...just read to find out...by the way I'd like to just remind you that if you hate the ending please review to tell me how much you hate it...I'd love to hear from you.  
  
The Return  
Chapter 9 - the unofficial end (or the burning letter)  
  
'It's a good thing I kissed her when I had the chance.' Xiao Lang thought to himself solemnly, glancing shyly at the girl walking beside him. 'I'd be too nervous to take that chance now. Just like the last time.' He lowered his gaze at the last thought.  
He had been in Japan for almost one year and after the night of the dance his feelings for Sakura grew, along with his desire to protect her from her fears.   
They went out to the movies together, ate dinner often at his house and a couple of times Sakura had even fallen asleep in his arms after a long day of studying. They were dates, but neither considered them official dates.  
  
The earthquakes stopped, too. Almost. There were a few tremors, nothing too noticeable, but Xiao Lang often stayed close to Sakura just in case.  
'It was so easy to fall for her.' He thought.  
  
When he had finally given up the search for his Ying Fa, the way to find her came to him instantly. He almost wanted to kick himself. That morning he went online and searched for her father's name. When he found that there was only one Kinomoto, Fujitaka he wrote down the address on a sheet of paper, noting that she had moved. When he was offline, he took out a sheet and began to write, but nothing he thought of felt right. Eventually he decided to just write down what ever came to mind and it all flowed. He only hoped that she didn't love him like Meilin always told him, because this would break her heart. He didn't want to learn that she was clinging to what could have been if he had said his feelings sooner, like he had done for so long. Now he felt free of the pain in his heart he felt the minute he stepped on the plane for Hong Kong almost seven years ago. He folded the letter once he had finished and shoved it in an envelope with the address on it and mailed it on his way to pick up Sakura. He was going to focus on his future and the project he promised to help Sakura on at the library.  
  
~~  
  
Sakura looked at Xiao Lang and noticed that he was lost in space. She snapped her fingers in front of his face, shaking him out of his thoughts.  
"Where were you?" she asked.  
"Uh... nowhere." She giggled as he blushed and turned away. Her feelings towards him had grown, too, and even though she wasn't as dense as before, she still had her moments.  
"Well. Are you gonna help me, or stay in space?" she asked and walked to a shelf for a book.  
  
Xiao Lang followed her, but his thoughts stayed on other things.  
'I know I love her, but what will my clan say when I return with another girl? They can tell the difference between magic and non-magic. They can even tell between Clow cards and Sakura cards. They'll notice. What am I gonna do?' he worriedly asked himself. He shook his head and focused on what Sakura was asking him.  
"Can you help me find the Panda section?" she asked sweetly.  
"Sure." He replied and went into another row. They were on the third floor, which was mostly a balcony around the walls with a glass elevator on one side. The second floor was the same and the lobby had the check out computers and information desk in the middle.  
"I've found it!" she cried. He went back to the table and watched as Sakura put two books on the table.   
"I got two and I'll go get some more." She exclaimed proudly.  
  
~~  
  
At the exact same time, Jing and Lei were on their way to hatch another scheme to separate the two. With each step closer, their jealousy grew stronger.  
  
~~  
  
Xiao Lang was the first one to notice the tremor. At first it was so small, he barely paid attention to it. But as it grew, he noticed that Sakura hadn't felt it. She was so involved with one book, that she didn't sense when the bookcase beside her started to rock. She had become too interested in her own thoughts that only a sharp jerk and the sound of splintering wood and glass returned her to the present.  
Xiao Lang had grabbed her waist and tugged her out of the way, seconds from certain death.  
"Oh no." she cried, as she felt the power behind the quake, and hid in his embrace shutting her eyes tightly, like that night after the dance.   
While everyone else escaped when they first felt the tremor, Sakura and Xiao Lang were trapped by the fallen cases.  
With each second the damage got worse. The glass windows shattered, the ceiling and walls started to crack and the second floor collapsed.  
As the third floor began to fall apart, the pair rushed to a corner, untouched by the disaster. Xiao Lang grabbed their bags quickly and wrapped his arms around Sakura and held her and the bags tightly.  
Slowly the rumbling stopped and they shakily got to their feet. Sakura walked cautiously to where the floor suddenly ended and peered over to survey the damage. Everything was in ruins.  
"Sakura! Stay away from the edge!" Xiao Lang warned and dusted himself off. He was only a few feet from Sakura but in those next few moments he felt a million miles away.  
Sakura looked to him and smiled reassuringly but didn't move.   
Suddenly a violent aftershock rocked the ground and sent her careening over the edge of the floor.  
"NO!! SAKURA!!" Xiao Lang cried as he watched helplessly as she tumbled over the edge to the awaiting debris...  
  
  
I'm really sorry...like I already said. I want you to review to tell me how much you hate cliffhangers and how much you want to kill me...I love death threats to continue a story. It makes my life more interesting...or review to tell me this is the worst story you have ever read...does Sakura really die?!? Did you know that it's so easy to write a S+S fic with a ghost Sakura!! Oops...too much information...but I'm not gonna tell you if she dies or not cause I could go either way. Her spirit could haunt Xiao-erm I mean Syaoran, or she could miraculously survive the three-story fall onto sharp rocks and broken glass...hmm...I wonder which ending I should give her...to kill or not to kill...now, that is the question. But if you had been paying attention to the story then you would know what happens and how the story ends...but probably not. Till next chapter...ja.  



	10. and now a message from the characters of...

Hello, everybody. Now I know that you are all wondering what the hell happens to Sakura...ne? Well this is the commercial. You see dumb producers, like me for example (I produced this fic didn't I?), decide that all of the commercials should go right at the best part...but I'm not that dumb. I really want those reviews regardless if you want to yell at me to hurry or to flame me. But you might like this commercial it's for the upcoming chapters and the sequel. Can you believe that you can have a S+S romance fic without Sakura?? Well if you want some minor spoilers. MINOR. Then read on. If I had major ones then there would be no point to reading the rest, ne?  
  
The Return  
Chapter 10 - and now a message from our characters.  
  
Disclaimer: I've also decided to put the disclaimer in here cause clamp sucks!!! Not the anime part, just the part that owns CCS. Sadly it's true. I *sob* don't own it...  
  
Behind the scenes with the stars  
  
*The camera turns on and starts by looking at Sakura. At first she stares then she starts talking to the camera. *  
  
Sakura: yeah I had a stunt double for that last scene. Can you believe that the writers won't even let me in on if I die or not! I wonder if this guy is actually Syaoran. He's so nice and handsome and no!!! I cant!!! I thought I loved Xiao Lang...no I meant to say Syaoran...AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!! Someone help me!!!!!  
*Sakura goes running back to her trailer to weep over her tragedy of a life. *  
  
*The camera pans to the right to see Syaoran/Xiao Lang pouting in a corner. *  
Syaoran/Xiao Lang: *sobbing* waaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh, I just want my sakaarrrraaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!! Wwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh. W-why did they have to make my life so complicated?!?!?! I want my SAAAKKKAAARRRAAAHH!!!!   
  
O...k...  
  
*The camera continues to the right and catches the author talking to a reporter...*  
Author: all I'm gonna say is when Xiao Lang walks out of the building he is greeted by all of his friends and even sees Eriol and Tomoyo who has tears in her eyes. MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA... for Sakura her best friend??? HAHAHAHA...  
  
*Camera backs away slowly from crazy evil author...then sees Tomoyo in another corner talking to herself... *  
  
Tomoyo: I knew he was back...Eriol knew he was back...so why did I not tell Sakura...YOU!!! *Tomoyo screams at Eriol. Then chases him with a bat. * GET BACK HERE YOU BASTARD!!!! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO DID THIS TO MY BEST FRIEND!!!! YOU'LL PAY!!!  
  
Eriol: no!! It was the author, she made me do it!!!! It wasn't me!!! NO!!!!  
  
Tomoyo: BUT SHE DID IT ON HOW SHE THOUGHT YOU'D REACT!!! TELL ME TRUTHFULLY THAT YOU HONESTLY WOULDN'T HAVE DONE THAT IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO!!  
  
Eriol: well...  
  
Tomoyo: DIE!!! *She swings the bat at his head and Eriol collapses in a heap. * That'll teach you to mess with an angry girlfriend...oh hi there! *Waves at the camera. * What I was talking about you'll understand why I'm mad at Eriol for what he made me promise not to do when you read the next chapter. *Looks over at the lump and whacks it a few times just for good measure. *  
  
  
Lei: why can't I have more lines?? Why did I have to be portrayed as evil...it's Jing who's evil. He jumped my Xiao Lang...although if that tramp ever touches him I swear I'll do more than just jump her, I'LL KILL HER!!! Now what was I saying?   
  
Author: she's actually done more than just touch him...don't you remember the dance? The moonlight, the earthquake, her falling into his arms? It was magic...literally.  
  
Lei: THAT WITCH!!!! When I see her I'm gonna RIP OFF HER HEAD!!!!! I'M GOING TO TEAR HER LIMB FROM LIMB!!!!  
  
Author: but you cant.  
  
Lei: WHY NOT!!!  
  
Author: because if you kill off our lead then the whole thing will be tossed in the garbage... and then you wont get that kissing scene I promised you. *Wink*  
  
Lei: oh yeah. I GET TO KISS MY BELOVED!!!!!  
  
Author: *whispers* but it wont be with who you might think...hee hee hee hee AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!   
  
Lei: what are you laughing at?!? *She glares at the author. *  
  
Author: oh...nothing... *she smiles her evil Eriol smile* hehehe  
  
  
*Camera pans to an angry Kero and Touya yelling at the director *  
  
Touya: why the hell did you allow that gaki near my sister?!?!? Now look what happened...she falls of a collapsed building to die for sure!!!  
  
Kero: yeah!!! And why didn't we get in this fic?!?! I wanna know that!!! And why don't I have any pudding left in my trailer???   
  
Director: *sighs* Hopefully this all ends up happily and you two were only brought along because your Sakura is the star. Kero you don't have any pudding left because it's in your belly and we don't get restocked until tomorrow.  
  
Kero: TOMORROW!!! I'm gonna die!!!  
  
Director: And Touya...the 'gaki' is in love with your sister...he would die for her...  
  
Touya: but still... he tried to beat her up when I first saw him, he's the world's biggest baka!!! *A mob of screaming girls attack him for calling Syaoran-kun a baka. *   
  
Director: don't blame me I'm not the one who wrote all these bad things happening to you two. The author did...she's right over there.  
*Touya and Kero turn to look at the author and together run at her*  
  
Kero: MY PUDDING!!!  
  
Touya: MY SISTER!!!  
  
Together: DIE!!!!  
  
Author: UH OH! TIME TO GET ON WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER!!! *Runs for her life*  
  
Enjoy the next chapter...and please review!!! Please!!!! I'd really appreciate it!!! Ok then... fine don't review...no!! Wait I want you're reviews!!! Please, please, review!!  



	11. tomoyos big fat mouth is sealed shut

Hey guys!! I finally get to post this chapter!! Yay!!!! This might be strange but I'm at my dad's work and I didn't have the chapter with me so I kinda downloaded it from my own site...heh heh. I have actually finished this story and almost finished the sequel to it. Please review cause I love your reviews so much!! This chapter might suck a lot but at least it's better than next chapter...cause it's gonna be the last one. You'll hate me even more than when I posted the ninth chapter and when I posted the tenth chapter, which wasn't a continuation...AND when ff.n was down right when I was about to post this chapter. Ok maybe I should shut up right now and paste the rest up and post it...   
  
The Return   
Chapter 11 - Tomoyo's big fat mouth is sealed shut   
  
"NO!! SAKURA!!" Xiao Lang cried, running to the edge futilely, in an attempt to do something to save her. With his speed he slid across the floor and caught hold of her arm. Only seconds later she would have been lying, broken on the ground below.   
"Hold on!!" he cried as he strained to lift her back onto the remains of the third floor. Unfortunately the tiled floor provided no traction and the dust that had settled on the ground just made it worse. All he could do was hold on. "I promise you, somehow we'll get out of this." He exclaimed, trying to think positively. But a loud cracking destroyed his hopes.   
"What was that?" Sakura asked, looking up to avoid looking beneath her.   
"Um..." but before he could finish answering, the ceiling gave way and a chunk knocked Xiao Lang unconscious and both of them tumbled to the first floor.   
Xiao Lang's body landed directly on top of Sakura's and the rest of the building collapsed onto his back.   
  
~~   
  
"They're in there!" Miko yelled at another firefighter. Hours after the collapse of the library, police and firefighters were called in to dig for any survivors. "You can't just give up." she sobbed and collapsed in a crying heap.   
"Miko, it's gonna be alright. If Sakura was in there she'll come out alive. I guarantee it." Whispered Tomoyo, who had rushed over to the library, with Eriol, as soon as she heard what had happened. They knew that no natural earthquake could kill Sakura.   
"Sir! I think I've discovered something." Crackled a voice on the chief's radio. This news gave everyone's hopes a boost. "Yeah, it's them. A boy and a girl." The voice added.   
"Are you sure?" the chief asked, making sure it was them.   
"Definitely. They are both alive but the girl is covered in bruises and deep gashes and the boy is much worse." He replied. "He was found on top of the girl protecting her from most of the cement but he had the entire building fall apart on him.   
"Ok then, get them out of there." The chief smiled.   
  
A few minutes later Sakura and Xiao Lang were carried out of the rubble and into the awaiting ambulance.   
"Tomoyo." Eriol dragged her off to a corner. "That boy with Sakura was Syaoran." He exclaimed.   
"But...how?" asked a bewildered Tomoyo. "Are you sure?"   
"I could feel his aura. And I could sense his magic. It was definitely him." He nodded.   
"Great! When I tell Sakura she's gonna freak out!" Tomoyo cheered.   
"But you mustn't tell Sakura." He warned solemnly.   
"Why not?" she asked. This was her best friend's true love who had just returned for her. Why shouldn't she be able to tell her?   
"Well... Miko called him Xiao Lang, right? Then that means he's here for a reason and doesn't want us to meddle. Otherwise he would have used his Japanese name. If he's here for Sakura then he wants to do it on his own. Don't interfere." He stated, looking sternly at his girlfriend. Promise me you wont meddle. Promise me you won't play matchmaker." He ordered.   
"Demo-"   
"Promise me." He repeated.   
"Hai, I promise." She sighed in defeat.   
"I love you Eriol-sama. Don't ever leave me." She whispered and curled into his arms.   
"You'll leave me before I'd ever think of leaving you." He said and kissed her forehead lightly, not knowing how true his statement was. "I love you, too."   
  
~~   
  
"Ok. You will have to stay in the hospital until your bones can heal properly. You should be out of here in about a few days." Explained a doctor to Xiao Lang, who lay bandaged in a clean white hospital bed. "You're lucky to have survived that. Not many people would have." He laughed nervously as he walked out. 'The odds of surviving something like that are a billion to one.' The man thought.   
  
Xiao Lang turned his head and saw Sakura, fast asleep in a chair beside him. For almost a week she had stayed by his side after she was released from the hospital.   
'She looks like an angel. So peaceful.' He thought, smiling to himself. Her eyes fluttered open as he tried to sit up. When he saw her stir he smiled.   
"Hello, there. You've been asleep for a while." He exclaimed somewhat cheerfully.   
"Hoe..." she mumbled, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "You're ok!" she exclaimed quietly, her surprise evident on her face. The doctors had told her that he had had the entire building collapse on him and he, most likely, wouldn't make it out alive. If he did, they said he wouldn't be the same.   
"Hai...did you want me to die?" he laughed.   
"Iie. The doctors said you wouldn't be. The school also was damaged so we are excused from our project." She said and pulled her chair even closer to his bed.   
"Have you gone home yet?" he asked noticing that she was wearing the same clothes from the library only washed.   
"Iie. But I have showered and changed. One of my friends brought over my clothes and this outfit was washed. No one's at home. My brother moved out a while ago and my father's away for the month." She answered. "I've been here with you the whole time." She tried to smile but tears were threatening to flow.   
"You didn't ha-" but he was silenced by her hand on his mouth.   
"I wanted to." She sniffed. "Because you kept your promise."   
He couldn't remember what he had promised her, but she answered his look of puzzlement.   
"You promised me that we'd get out of there." She recalled.   
"Oh, no problem." He himself hadn't believed what he was saying, but he did keep his promise, and he knew that meant a lot to her.   
  
~~   
  
Hours later, Sakura slipped off to a pay phone while he slept. She deposited her change and dialed the familiar digits.   
"Moshi, mosi. Daidouji residence."   
"Tomoyo?" she asked.   
"Sakura! I'm glad you're alright. Is something wrong?" she asked   
"No, nothing's wrong. I'm calling because I have something important to tell you." She said seriously.   
"Okay, what is it?" Tomoyo sounded interested.   
"I-I think I've finally gotten over Syaoran for good." She exclaimed happily.   
"..." There was silence on the other end. Tomoyo didn't understand. Should she be happy that her friend has gotten over the jerk who broke her heart, or be sad because that jerk returned for her and was now in a hospital bed because he tried to protect her?   
"I'm in love with someone else. His name's Xiao Lang." She continued.   
"Oh, that's great." Tomoyo responded with less enthusiasm than Sakura expected.   
'Oh well, some is better than none.' She thought. Tomoyo, however, had to pinch herself to keep her from blurting Xiao Lang's true identity.   
"I'm happy for you." She said quietly.   
"I better be going now. Ja." Sakura hung up the phone and skipped lightly back to the room. She had finally admitted her feelings to someone other than herself.   
  
  
Yeah...that did kinda suck...no S+S action, atleast not as much as I'd like to have had. Please review!!! And tell me if you want the next story (the sequel) cause I might not post it here. You hafta tell me now or you'll never see it...the end is gonna hurt a lot of people. So if you want what's best in the interests of S+S ...AND E+T then you better tell me or else I'm gonna break them both up...heh heh...just review!!


	12. what becomes of the broken hearted

Before I continue I have two more people to dedicate this to. Yes they're real people...I hope... Stars From Above, hey there!! You've gotta keep reading my stuff and I'll keep reading your stuff. Promise. And to Sakura&Syaoran 4ever, your reviews are so funny even though they probably weren't meant to be...don't worry, if you want more chapters than I'll keep posting them and I agree, S+S 4ever.   
  
Ok, here it is. The long awaited chapter twelve!!! I have so much things to fit into one chapter that I think I'm just gonna have to make another story. YES THAT'S RIGHT!!! THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER!! I hate it as much as you but this is the end. If you want a sequel to this than review! I have lots of information, which would help you understand the story, but I can only put it into another story. I wonder what will happen in this story to make it end. How will Sakura react when she receives the letter from Syaoran? Who is behind the tremors? (Like you don't already know...) What part does Meilin play in ending this story? Will Tomoyo's promise blow up in her face? Can Sakura chance her fate? Find out for yourself...  
  
The Return  
Chapter 12 - What Becomes Of The Broken Hearted  
  
Finally, on Saturday, after a few days, the doctors told Xiao Lang that he was well enough to be released. Sakura had stayed with him and had Tomoyo deliver the clean clothes to the front desk. She even offered to walk Xiao Lang home.  
When they reached the front gates, they noticed a strange limo parked in the front driveway. They dismissed the object and walked to his apartment.  
  
He quickly ran to the washroom when they got to his house, asking Sakura to check the messages on his machine. She laughed at his rush and went to the phone to see if there had been any messages. Just two. She pressed play and listened.  
  
  
"Hey Syaoran! It's just me, Meilin. It's Monday night so I guess you're out. I was calling because the elders and I haven't heard any news of your search. Have you found her yet? No! I thought so. How hard can it be to find one Kinomoto Sakura? Aunt Yelan is getting impatient and wondering if she should renew our engagement. That's something to think about.  
I overheard the elders discussing something to do with the earthquakes in Japan. I never heard all of it. But they sound serious.  
Do you really think Sakura-Chan still loves the ten-year-old boy who tried to beat her up for the cards? After six- no seven years? I gotta go but say hi to Tomoyo and the stuffed animal for me. Ja."  
  
  
Xiao Lang didn't notice the look of awe when he walked in. he had only heard the last bits of her message and repeated it.  
  
'No! It can't be him. Not now. I've just gotten over it.' Sakura denied to herself and sat down suddenly. She tried to think of another explanation. 'He's probably friends with Meilin and she was engaged to him before Syaoran. No, that doesn't make sense. I don't have any other explanation. Syaoran. Kinomoto Sakura. Meilin. Seven years. Too much coincidences...no. It can't be. He should have recognized me or my aura unless... I hid it from him. What if he is? Wait, Meilin never called him Xiao Lang. It's a wrong number! But then...' she thought with worry. Too much was going on in her mind. She couldn't sort it all out. Then a hoarse whisper entered her thoughts causing her to cringe.  
'The dream. Remember the premonition...' it said. She shook her head and concentrated on Xiao Lang who was playing the second message. It was Meilin again and she sounded worried...  
  
  
"Xiao Lang, something bad has happened to aunt Yelan and she's collapsed. The clan doctors are looking after her but they told me it doesn't look good. The clan is also getting sicker. I'm scared. Someone told me it had to do with you. Please come back to Hong Kong or your mother might die. I don't want to have to deal with another nine-year-old Xiao Lang who was cold. The jet is waiting and I sent a limo for you. If they all die you'll be..." she hesitated not wanting to say it, "and you'll be the only Li left in Hong Kong..."   
  
  
"Orphan." He finished for Meilin. If he lost his mother and the clan he'd lose his only family. He glanced out the window and realized the guy in the limo was the same man who had been at the airport when he left Hong Kong.  
Sakura saw the look of determination in his eyes as he turned and walked to the door and grabbed his keys. He didn't even look at her as he reached for the door. She ran forth and grabbed his arm.  
"Wait. Don't just leave me here." She said selfishly knowing that if she didn't do something her dream would come true and he would leave her forever.  
"I have to." He said solemnly without turning around. "I'll come back. Just stay here."  
"No! You can't leave me. Please don't put me through this hell again. You know you won't come back." She pleaded with him but he just pulled his arm out of her grasp and walked out the door.  
"I have to, Sakura. I swear I'll come back for you. I'm so sorry to leave but you heard the message, I have to." He replied pushing the button for the elevator. It came within seconds.   
"Xiao Lang!!" she cried as he got on the elevator. She collapsed in a heap, knowing she couldn't change this horrible thing.  
"I love you!" she called as the doors closed. "Please don't leave. Don't leave me alone..." she whispered but nothing would bring him back...  
  
~~  
  
When she finally got the courage to go home, she collapsed onto her bed. She turned over and her head hit something strange. It was an envelope. 'Otoo-chan must have brought this up before he left.' She thought as she sat up and opened it.   
Silently she read the contents and almost died all over again. The letter was dated the day of the earthquake.  
  
  
Dearest Sakura,  
Konnichiwa. It's just an old friend, Syaoran. I'm sorry I haven't talked to you or written to you in quite a few years but I'm not writing this letter to blame my circumstances. I'm writing this letter to express to you how I felt for you when we were ten. I love you...  
  
At this, she paused and looked at her ceiling, and for a few minutes, let her tears flow freely. Then she picked up the letter and continued reading.  
  
I love you...I have loved you since our days as card captors. I left you without sharing with you my feelings, as I should have. I loved you so much that when I returned to Hong Kong, I was miserable.  
I was allowed to return to Japan one year ago to find and marry you but I found someone else in our spot on the swings one night. Her name was Sakura, too. Over the last year I got to know her very well and I'd have to say that I can't bear to live without her. I think that means that I'm in love with her. I don't think I could love another person in this way. I will always love you but not like this. I hope you're happy in your life and I wish you luck. I had to tell you this because if I didn't then I wouldn't have been able to get over the past.  
Love,  
Li Xiao Lang  
(My Chinese name. I thought you should know)  
P.S. I wrote my e-mail at the bottom so that we could maybe reconnect again. I miss our card capturing days and most of all I miss you. I'd like do rekindle our friendship again.  
  
When she read this she felt like curling up and dying.  
'I hate you Xiao Lang, for doing this to me again' she thought over and over again even though she loved him. She couldn't stop her tears and didn't want to. Part of her was solemn because he loved her, but the other part was dying. The last thing she thought before falling asleep was that she'd die of a broken heart. A few minutes later she was drifting into a troubled sleep.   
  
  
This is the end. THE END!!! If you want another story then you better review!!! If you don't then I'll end it here. I swear I will. Please review. If you want another story then look for a story called The China Doll. It sheds light on why the Li clan is sick and how Sakura struggles to mend her broken heart. Review!!!!!  
  
I have totally finished the china doll and I'm in the middle of typing it up...if you like S+S or even E+T you'll love this next story, but it wont get posted here unless you review!!! REVIEW!! Also I've started to post chapter one of the next story on my site so if you want the site then you'll have to ask me for the address... just review!!!! 


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